JP2023026790A - battery terminal unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a battery terminal unit in which loosening of a cover member with respect to a base member or abnormal noise is suppressed without degrading assembly work efficiency of the cover member with respect to the base member.SOLUTION: A fuse unit 1 comprises: a bus bar 2 which is fixed to a battery terminal 60; a base member 3 inside which the bus bar 2 is housed; a cover member 4 which covers the battery terminal 60; and a latching mechanism 5 which moves the cover member 4 to a mounting position in a mounting direction with respect the base member 3 to thereby regulate movement of the cover member 4 from the mounting position in a direction opposite to the mounting direction, so that the cover member 4 is latched to the base member 3. The base member 3 includes: a pair of pressing portions 14 which is opposite, in a width direction, to a mounting direction-side terminal 24 of the cover member 4 in a mounting state in which the cover member 4 is maintained at the mounting position, and each pressing portion 14 includes a protruded portion 16 which contacts the mounting direction-side terminal 24 to press the same to an orthogonal direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a battery terminal unit.

A vehicle battery is equipped with a detachable cover in order to protect the fastening portion between the battery post and the battery terminal, which are exposed to the outside. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cover that covers the outer surface of a fuse unit body and has a pair of cover-side locking portions that are locked by a pair of body-side locking portions. In the locked state where each cover-side locking portion is bent outward, rattling and abnormal noise are suppressed by utilizing a restoring force obtained by bending outward.

JP 2015-88307 A

By the way, in order to suppress more backlash and noise by using the locking mechanism described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the cover-side locking portion and the body-side locking portion. Therefore, when the cover-side engaging portion is engaged with the main-body-side engaging portion, it is necessary to apply more force to the work, and there is a possibility that the assembling workability is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a battery terminal unit that suppresses looseness and abnormal noise of a cover member with respect to a base member without degrading workability of assembling the cover member with respect to the base member. intended to

In order to achieve the above objects, the battery terminal unit according to the present invention provides a bus bar fixed to a battery terminal fixed to a battery post and electrically connected to the battery post via the battery terminal. and a base member having insulating properties for accommodating the bus bar therein; and in a fixed state in which the bus bar having insulating properties is fixed to the battery post via the battery terminal, the battery post and the a cover member covering the battery terminals; and a state in which movement of the cover member from the mounting position in the direction opposite to the mounting direction is restricted by moving the cover member to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member. a locking mechanism for locking the cover member with respect to the base member, wherein the base member includes a restricting portion that restricts movement of at least the cover member in the mounting direction in the mounting position; at least one holding portion facing the end portion of the cover member on the side of the mounting direction in a direction perpendicular to the mounting direction in a mounting state in which the cover member is maintained at the mounting position with respect to the base member; , wherein the holding portion has a protrusion that contacts the end portion on the side of the mounting direction and presses in the orthogonal direction in the mounting state.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the battery terminal unit which concerns on this invention, it is effective in the ability to suppress the looseness and abnormal noise of the cover member with respect to a base member, without reducing the assembly|attachment workability|operativity of the cover member with respect to a base member.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment (No. 1). FIG. 4 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment (No. 2). FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment. 6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the locking mechanism shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the pressing portion shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the battery terminal unit according to the embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, it demonstrates in detail, referring drawings for embodiment of the battery terminal unit which concerns on this invention. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment. In addition, components in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art, or substantially the same components. Also, the constituent elements in the following embodiments can be omitted, replaced, and changed in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Embodiment]
The battery terminal unit according to this embodiment is, for example, a fuse unit 1 having an overcurrent protection function. A fuse unit 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, is electrically connected to a battery post 51 of a battery 50 via a battery terminal 60, and is used for overcurrent protection of an electric circuit. The fuse unit 1 includes a busbar 2 , a base member 3 , a cover member 4 and a locking mechanism 5 .

In the following description, the illustrated X direction is the depth direction of the fuse unit 1 in this embodiment. The Y direction in the drawing is the width direction of the fuse unit 1 in this embodiment. The illustrated Z direction is the attachment/detachment direction of the fuse unit 1 in this embodiment. The X-, Y- and Z-directions intersect each other, here orthogonally. One of the X directions is the X1 direction, and the other is the X2 direction. One of the Z directions is the Z1 direction (attachment direction), and the other is the Z2 direction (removal direction). The Z direction is a direction along the vertical direction, but is not limited to this.

Here, the battery terminal 60 is attached to the battery post 51 of the battery 50 . The battery terminal 60 is a component for electrically connecting the battery 50 and the fuse unit 1 by being attached to the battery post 51 . The battery 50 is formed in, for example, a housing shape, and is a so-called secondary battery or power storage device. The battery 50 has a battery post 51 on the upper side in the vertical direction when the battery 50 is mounted on the vehicle, among the plurality of surfaces of a battery housing 52 that houses the battery liquid and various parts that make up the battery 50. is established. The battery post 51 protrudes vertically upward from the vertically upper surface of the battery housing 52 . The battery post 51 is formed in a columnar shape, more specifically, in a columnar shape (or a cylindrical shape) tapered so that the diameter becomes smaller toward the distal end side. The battery terminal 60 is attached to the battery terminal stopper 70 and fixed to the battery post 51 by fastening members such as bolts and nuts.

The battery terminal stopper 70 restricts the rotation of the battery terminal 60 around the center axis X of the battery post 51 when the battery terminal 60 is attached to the battery post 51 . The battery terminal stopper 70 limits the assembly angle of the battery terminal 60 with respect to the battery post 51 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bus bar 2 is made of a conductive plate-shaped metal material or the like, and has a fusible body 32 in part. The fusible element 32 is a portion that is provided in the current path of the busbar 2 and melts when an overcurrent flows. The fusible element 32 is, for example, a configuration in which a low-melting-point metal tip is crimped and welded to a band-shaped conductive portion with a narrow width in the bus bar 2, and when an overcurrent flows, it melts and cuts off the corresponding current path. do. Here, the overcurrent of the fusible body 32 is, for example, a current exceeding a preset rating. The fusible element 32 melts when a current exceeding a preset rating flows. The rated current of the fusible body 32 is determined according to the current of the circuit to be protected. The bus bar 2 is formed in an inverted L shape when the fuse unit 1 is viewed from the width direction. The busbar 2 is housed inside the base member 3 , but the electrically connected portion is exposed from the base member 3 . A portion of the busbar 2 exposed from the base member 3 is a portion connected to the battery terminal 60 and a portion to which the stud bolt 35 is attached.

The bus bar 2 is electrically connected to the battery terminal 60 by inserting the stud bolt 61 of the battery terminal 60 into the bolt insertion hole 2a and fastening it with a nut (not shown). be done. That is, the busbar 2 is fixed to the battery terminals 60 and electrically connected to the battery posts 51 via the battery terminals 60 . The bus bar 2 has a portion to which the stud bolt 35 is attached. By being fastened, it is electrically connected to the electric wire 6 .

The base member 3 is made of an insulating resin material or the like, and accommodates the busbar 2 therein. When the fuse unit 1 is viewed from the width direction, the base member 3 is formed in an inverted L shape to match the shape of the busbar 2 . The cover member 4 is attached to the base member 3 from the attachment direction of the fuse unit 1 and is locked by the locking mechanism 5 . The base member 3 includes a base body 10 extending in the attachment/detachment direction of the fuse unit 1 and a depth direction side extension portion 11 extending in one of the depth directions (for example, the X1 direction) from the end of the base body 10 in the removal direction. and

When viewed from the attachment/detachment direction, the depth direction side extending portion 11 has one end in the depth direction formed in a C shape or a U shape, and a portion of the bus bar 2 connected to the battery terminal 60 is exposed. there is Base body 10 has protective member 31 for protecting fusible body 32 provided on bus bar 2 . The protective member 31 is formed in a C-shape or a U-shape when the fuse unit 1 is viewed from the attachment/detachment direction, and protects the fusible element 32 accommodated therein. The base body 10 is a pair of base bodies 10 facing each other in a direction orthogonal to the mounting direction with respect to the mounting direction side end portion 24 of the cover member 4 in the mounting state where the cover member 4 is maintained at the mounting position with respect to the base member 3 . holding portion 14. Here, the mounting position means that the cover member 4 is moved in the mounting direction with respect to the base member 3, and the cover member 4 is locked to the base member 3 by the locking mechanism 5, so that the cover member 4 is moved in the removal direction. is a position where the movement of is restricted. The pair of pressing portions 14 face each other in the width direction of the orthogonal direction.

The pressing portion 14 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed in the width direction of the base body 10, and faces a portion of the outer peripheral surface 10a of the base body 10 in the width direction. The pressing portion 14 forms a pocket portion 15 between itself and the outer peripheral surface 10 a of the base body 10 . The pocket portion 15 is a space into which the mounting direction side end portion 24 of the cover member 4 is inserted at least in the mounting state. The pocket portion 15 is opened in one of the removal direction and the depth direction of the base body 10 (for example, the X2 direction) and closed in the other of the mounting direction and the depth direction of the base body 10 (for example, the X1 direction). The pressing portion 14 is provided at the end portion on the mounting direction side when the base member 3 is viewed from the orthogonal direction. The pressing portion 14 has a protrusion 16 that contacts the end portion 24 of the cover member 4 in the mounting direction and presses it in the width direction in the mounting state.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the protrusion 16 faces the outer peripheral surface 10a of the base body 10 in the width direction and protrudes toward the pocket portion 15 side. The projecting portion 16 is provided on the side of the pressing portion 14 in the removal direction, and extends in the depth direction of the pressing portion 14 . The protrusion 16 has a height and strength that presses the end portion 24 of the cover member 4 on the mounting direction side and elastically deforms the cover member 4 in the mounted state. This height is the height in the width direction. A gap V is formed in the pocket portion 15 so that even if the mounting direction side end portion 24 is pressed by the projection portion 16 , the pocket portion 15 can be elastically deformed inward in the width direction. That is, when the mounting direction side end portion 24 is elastically deformed by the pressing force of the protrusion 16 , the mounting direction side end portion 24 moves into the gap V of the pocket portion 15 . The mounting direction side end portion 24 may or may not come into contact with the outer peripheral surface 10 a of the base body 10 by being pressed by the protrusion 16 .

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 7, the base body 10 has a pair of guide ribs 17 projecting from the outer peripheral surface 10a of the base body 10 toward the outside of the base member 3 in mutually orthogonal directions. . Each guide rib 17 is formed to extend in the mounting direction (or the mounting and demounting direction).

The cover member 4 is made of an insulating resin material or the like, and covers the battery post 51 and the battery terminal 60 when the bus bar 2 is fixed to the battery post 51 via the battery terminal 60 . The cover member 4 is formed in an inverted L shape when the fuse unit 1 is viewed from the width direction. The cover member 4 is mounted on the base member 3 in the mounting direction of the fuse unit 1 and locked by the locking mechanism 5 . The cover member 4 includes a cover body 20 , a lid body 21 , and a hinge 22 connecting the cover body 20 and the lid body 21 . The cover main body 20, lid 21, and hinge 22 are integrally molded.

The cover main body 20 extends in the attachment/detachment direction of the fuse unit 1, and the end portion of the cover main body 20 in the removal direction is bent to one side in the depth direction. The cover main body 20 is connected to the lid body 21 via a hinge 22 at an end formed by bending toward one side in the depth direction. The hinge 22 opens and closes the lid 21 in the Q direction (Fig. 1). The cover main body 20 has a mounting direction side end portion 24 at the mounting direction side end portion. In the above-described mounted state, the mounting direction side end portion 24 contacts the projection 16 of the pressing portion 14 and is pressed from the outside in the width direction by the projection 16 to elastically deform inward in the width direction. The end portion 24 on the mounting direction side is elastically deformed inward in the width direction in the above mounting state, but the restoring force pushes back the pressing portion 14 outward in the width direction via the protrusion 16 .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the cover body 20 has a pair of guide grooves 27 that are recessed from the inner peripheral surface 20a of the cover body 20 toward the inner side of the cover member 4 in the direction perpendicular to each other. Each guide rib 17 is formed to extend in the mounting direction (or the mounting and demounting direction).

The lid body 21 is a part that is connected to the cover body 20 via a hinge 22 and opens and closes with respect to the cover body 20 in the Q direction. The lid body 21 covers the battery post 51 , the battery terminal 60 and the battery terminal stopper 70 in the closed state in a fixed state in which the bus bar 2 is fixed to the battery post 51 via the battery terminal 60 .

By moving the cover member 4 to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member 3, the locking mechanism 5 restricts the movement of the cover member 4 from the mounting position in the direction opposite to the mounting direction. The cover member 4 is locked to the . The locking mechanism 5 locks the locking portion 23 of the cover member 4 to the locked portion 13 of the base member 3 . The engaged portion 13 is provided at the end on the side opposite to the mounting direction when the base member 3 is viewed in the orthogonal direction, that is, the end on the removal direction side. When the base member 3 is viewed from the orthogonal direction, the engaged portion 13 is provided apart from the pressing portion 14 in the attachment/detachment direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking portion 23 has an elastic portion 23a and a locking projection 23b.

The elastic portion 23 a extends in the attachment/detachment direction, and is connected to the cover main body 20 at the end in the attachment direction. The elastic portion 23a elastically deforms in the depth direction at the end in the removal direction with the end in the mounting direction as a base point. The locking protrusion 23b is formed outward from the elastic portion 23a, and faces the locked portion 13 in the attachment/detachment direction in the locked state where the locking portion 23 is locked to the locked portion 13. .

The base member 3 has a restriction portion 12 that restricts the movement of the cover member 4 in the mounting direction at the mounting position. In the attached state, the restricting portion 12 contacts the contact portion 25 of the cover member 4 in the attachment/detachment direction, thereby restricting the movement of the cover member 4 in the attachment direction. The regulating portion 12 is provided on the opposite side of the locking projection 23b with the locked portion 13 interposed therebetween in the attaching/detaching direction in the attached state.

In the fuse unit 1 configured as described above, the cover member 4 is attached to the base member 3 by an assembly worker in a fixed state in which the bus bar 2 is fixed to the battery post 51 via the battery terminal 60 . Specifically, the assembly worker moves the cover member 4 to the mounting position with respect to the base member 3 in the mounting direction. The pair of guide ribs 17 slides along the pair of guide grooves 27 to guide the cover member 4 to the mounting position when the cover member 4 moves to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member 3 . After the locking projection 23b contacts the locked portion 13, the locking projection 23b of the locking portion 23 is elastically deformed in the X2 direction in accordance with the movement to the mounting position. Get over the locking portion 13 . Thereby, the locking portion 23 is locked to the locked portion 13 . At this time, the restricting portion 12 faces the contact portion 25 in the attachment/detachment direction, and restricts movement of the cover member 4 with respect to the base member 3 in the attachment direction. In this manner, the locking mechanism 5 , the restricting portion 12 and the contact portion 25 can mainly suppress looseness and abnormal noise in the attachment/detachment direction of the cover member 4 with respect to the base member 3 . A gap U is formed between the locked portion 13 and the locking projection 23b ((A) in FIG. 6). As a result, when the operator changes the locking mechanism 5 from the locked state to the unlocked state, if the elastic portion 23a is elastically deformed in the X2 direction, the locking projection 23b moves into the gap U. The removal of the cover member 4 from 3 can be facilitated.

Further, when the assembling operator moves the cover member 4 to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member 3, the protrusion 16 of the pressing portion 14 comes into contact with the mounting direction side end portion 24, The mounting direction side end portion 24 is pressed in the width direction. As a result, it is possible to mainly suppress rattling and noise in the width direction of the cover member 4 with respect to the base member 3 . The pressing portion 14 maintains the pressing state against the mounting direction side end portion 24 from the locking start position S where the locking portion 23 is locked to the locked portion 13 to the locking completion position T (FIGS. 3 and 4). Figure 4). As a result, for example, even if the cover member 4 is deviated from the base member 3 in the attachment/detachment direction, the presser portion 14 maintains the pressing state of the attachment-direction side end portion 24 , and the width direction of the cover member 4 is maintained. Also, backlash and noise in the depth direction can be suppressed.

As described above, the fuse unit 1 of this embodiment includes the busbar 2 fixed to the battery terminal 60, the base member 3 accommodating the busbar 2 inside, the cover member 4 covering the battery terminal 60, the base member The cover member 4 is locked to the base member 3 by moving the cover member 4 in the mounting direction to the mounting position with respect to 3 and restricting the movement of the cover member 4 from the mounting position in the direction opposite to the mounting direction. and a locking mechanism 5 . The base member 3 has a pair of pressing portions 14 that face the mounting direction side end portions 24 of the cover member 4 in the mounted state in the width direction. It has a protrusion 16 that contacts with and presses in the width direction.

With the above configuration, in the mounted state, the protrusion 16 of the pressing portion 14 contacts the end portion 24 of the base member 3 on the mounting direction side and presses it in the width direction orthogonal to the mounting direction, so that the rigidity of the locking mechanism 5 is increased. By raising the cover member 4, it is not necessary to suppress looseness and noise of the cover member 4 with respect to the base member 3. - 特許庁Therefore, by increasing the rigidity of the locking mechanism 5, it is possible to suppress deterioration in workability of assembling the cover member 4 to the base member 3, and to suppress rattling and abnormal noise of the cover member 4 with respect to the base member 3. .

Further, in the fuse unit 1 of the present embodiment, the pressing portion 14 is mounted in the mounting direction from the locking start position where the locking portion 23 is locked to the locked portion 13 of the locking mechanism 5 to the locking completion position. The pressed state against the side end portion 24 is maintained. As a result, the pressing state of the pressing portion 14 against the mounting direction side end portion 24 of the base member 3 can be maintained not only at the locking completion position but also immediately before the locking completion position. Therefore, since the pressing portion 14 can perform positioning in the orthogonal direction from the locking start position to the locking completion position, the locking portion is easily locked to the locked portion 13 .

In the fuse unit 1 of the present embodiment, one of the engaged portion 13 and the pressing portion 14 is provided at the end in the mounting direction when the base member 3 is viewed from the orthogonal direction, and the other is provided at the end in the mounting direction. is provided at the end on the opposite side. As a result, the cover member 4 is locked to the base member 3 at different positions in the mounting direction, and the cover member 4 is pressed on the other side. Relative movement between the base member 3 and the cover member 4 is restricted as compared with the case where the operation is performed close to each other.

In the fuse unit 1 of the present embodiment, the pair of guide ribs 17 slide along the pair of guide grooves 27 when the cover member 4 moves to the mounting position relative to the base member 3 in the mounting direction. 4 is guided to the mounting position. As a result, workability of assembling the cover member 4 to the base member 3 can be improved. In addition, by inserting the guide ribs 17 into the guide grooves 27 in the width of the base member 3 , the relative movement of the cover member 4 in the width direction and the depth direction with respect to the base member 3 is restricted, and the cover member 4 is loose. and noise can be further suppressed.

Although the fuse unit 1 has an overcurrent protection function in the above embodiment, it is not limited to this, and may not have an overcurrent protection function.

In the above-described embodiment, the pressing portions 14 are provided on the outer peripheral surfaces of the base body 10 that face each other in the width direction. may be provided.

Reference Signs List 1 fuse unit 2 bus bar 3 base member 4 cover member 5 locking mechanism 12 restricting portion 13 locked portion 14 holding portion 16 protrusion 17 guide rib 23 locking portion 24 mounting direction side end portion 27 guide groove 51 battery post 60 battery terminal

Claims (4)

a bus bar fixed to a battery terminal fixed to a battery post and electrically connected to the battery post via the battery terminal;
a base member having insulating properties and housing the busbar therein;
a cover member having insulating properties and covering the battery post and the battery terminal in a fixed state in which the bus bar is fixed to the battery post via the battery terminal;
By moving the cover member to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member, movement of the cover member from the mounting position in the direction opposite to the mounting direction is restricted with respect to the base member. a locking mechanism that locks the cover member,
The base member is
a restricting portion that restricts movement of at least the cover member in the mounting direction at the mounting position;
at least one holding portion facing the end portion of the cover member on the side of the mounting direction in a direction perpendicular to the mounting direction in a mounting state in which the cover member is maintained at the mounting position with respect to the base member; , has
The holding portion is
In the mounted state, it has a protrusion that contacts the end on the mounting direction side and presses in the orthogonal direction,
A battery terminal unit characterized by: The locking mechanism is
The locking portion of the cover member is locked to the locked portion of the base member,
The holding portion is
maintaining a pressing state against the mounting direction side end at least from a locking start position where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion to a locking completion position;
The battery terminal unit of claim 1. The locked portion and the holding portion are
When the base member is viewed from the orthogonal direction, one is provided at the end on the mounting direction side and the other is provided at the end on the side opposite to the mounting direction.
A battery terminal unit according to claim 2. The base member is
a pair of guide ribs formed in a convex shape from the outer peripheral surface of the base member toward the outer side of the base member in the orthogonal direction and extending in the mounting direction;
The cover member is
a pair of guide grooves formed in a concave shape from an inner peripheral surface of the cover member toward the inner side of the cover member in the orthogonal direction and extending in the mounting direction;
The pair of guide ribs are
When the cover member moves to the mounting position in the mounting direction with respect to the base member, the pair of guide grooves are slid to guide the cover member to the mounting position.
The battery terminal unit according to any one of claims 1-3.

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